Before soft shell crabs are cooked, the sand-pocket and spongy substances under the edges of the shell should be removed. The upper shell is soft enough to be turned back for this purpose. _Vegetables._--Almost without exception, vegetables are prepared for cooking by being washed and laid in cold water to be freshened. Some kinds require no other preparation; others must be also scraped or peeled or shelled or husked. Those vegetables which require no preparation for cooking except washing and freshening are: asparagus, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach and sweet potatoes. Cress, celery, endive, lettuce and radishes require this same preparation, but are not usually cooked. One must be careful not to break the skins of beets and not to cut their tops too close, that the juices may not flow out and leave the beet colourless and tasteless. Salt should be put in the water in which cabbage and cauliflower are freshened and the cabbage heads should be divided into quarters that the small insects which these vegetables are apt to contain may be driven out. The washing of spinach requires especial care. It is well to use two pans that the spinach may be lifted back and forth from one to the other and the sand left in the bottom of the pans. A little salt should be put into one of the waters to expel insects. Vegetables which require also to be scraped are, carrots, oyster plant, parsnips and new potatoes. Vegetables which require to be peeled as well as to be washed and freshened are: cucumbers, egg plant, mushrooms, onions, white potatoes, squash, turnips and tomatoes. Egg plant is sliced, but the slices are not always peeled. It is freshened in salted water. Cucumbers and tomatoes are laid in water before they are peeled instead of afterward. Thick pieces should be cut from the ends and sides of cucumbers as the skin contains unwholesome juices. Onions are less unpleasant to peel if held under water during the process. Vegetables which also require shelling or husking are: lima beans, green peas and green corn. Corn silk may easily be removed from the ears with a brush. _Dried_ beans and peas require many hours of soaking to make them ready to be cooked. String beans are prepared by a process peculiar to themselves. Some people cut a thin strip from each side of the pod; others cut the pointed end toward one side, the stem end toward the other and draw away the strings with the cut pieces. The point of importance is to get rid of the strings absolutely. Rice is prepared by thorough washing. A good way to accomplish this is to put the rice in a coarse strainer and lower it into a pan of water. Lift and stir the rice, then raise the strainer from the pan, change the water and repeat the washing process. Continue to repeat this until the water remains clear.